Negative Trait Words Research Articles

Neural mechanisms of aberrant self-referential processing in patients with generalized anxiety disorder

Massive theoretical studies in clinical psychology have implicated the self in understanding internalizing disorders (i.e., anxiety and mood disorders), in which self-related tasks were frequently used to investigate internalizing psychopathology. As one of the most frequently seen internalizing disorder in primary care, patients with generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) are characterized by inappropriate self-related processing such as negative self-referential thinking. However, relevant neural mechanisms remain unknown. In this study, participants underwent a self-related task which they were presented with several positive and negative trait words and were required to judge the extent to which these traits matched themselves when compared to their average peers. Aberrant brain activation and functional connectivity of GAD were detected during processing positive and negative traits. Compared to healthy controls (HCs), patients with GAD exhibited abnormal self-processing which manifested as lower biased self-rating scores particularly for negative traits and weaker brain activity in the left dorsomedial prefrontal cortex, inferior frontal gyrus, superior temporal sulcus (STS), and bilateral lingual gyrus when processing trait words. Abnormal functional connections between these hypoactive regions and regions associated with reward, emotion, and theory of mind were observed in subsequent psychophysiological interaction analysis. An attenuation of connectivity between the left insula and left STS was associated with greater severity of anxiety symptom in GAD patients. These findings provide insight into the abnormal neurocognitive mechanisms of biased self-related processing in GAD patients, which involves distorted self-schema accompanied by abnormal activation and functional connections of regions implicated in self-related and social cognition processing.

The influence of self-referential stimuli on duration perception

Previous studies have shown that stimuli with subjective salience could affect duration estimation. Although self-referential stimuli possess high biological and social importance, no prior study has examined whether and how self-referential information affects duration perception. Experiment 1 used the temporal bisection task to investigate participants’ duration estimation of the presentation of their own name versus familiar and unfamiliar names. The results showed that participants overestimated the duration of their own name and became more sensitive to duration perception in such trials when compared with stranger’s names. Given the specificity of personal name, Experiment 2 used two types of personality-trait words in self-referential and friend-referential manner as the targets of duration perception. The duration of self-referential negative trait words was perceived to be longer relative to friend-referential negative trait words. The mechanism underlying the subjective time dilation effect of self-referential information possibly involves the engagement of increased attentional resources, which could allow the individual to preserve a certain level of stability and positivity of self-knowledge.

The evaluative information ecology: On the frequency and diversity of “good” and “bad”

ABSTRACTWe propose the Evaluative Information Ecology (EvIE) model as a model of the social environment. It makes two assumptions: Positive “good” information is more frequent compared to negative “bad” information and positive information is more similar and less diverse compared to negative information. We review support for these two properties based on psycho-lexical studies (e.g., negative trait words are used less frequently but they are more diverse), studies on affective reactions (e.g., people experience positive emotions more frequently but negative emotions are more diverse), and studies using direct similarity assessments (i.e., people rate positive information as more similar/less diverse compared to negative information). Next, we suggest explanations for the two properties building on potential adaptive advantages, reinforcement learning, hedonistic sampling processes, similarity from co-occurrence, and similarity from restricted ranges. Finally, we provide examples of how the EvIE model refines well-established effects (e.g., intergroup biases; preferences for groups without motivation or intent) and how it leads to the discovery of novel phenomena (e.g., the common good phenomenon; people share positive traits but negative traits make them distinct). We close by discussing the benefits relative to the drawbacks of ecological approaches in social psychology and how an ecological and cognitive level of analysis may complement each other.

The differential similarity of positive and negative information – an affect-induced processing outcome?

ABSTRACTPeople judge positive information to be more alike than negative information. This good-bad asymmetry in similarity was argued to constitute a true property of the information ecology (Alves, H., Koch, A., & Unkelbach, C. (2017). Why good is more alike than bad: Processing implications. Trends in Cognitive Sciences, 21, 69–79). Alternatively, the asymmetry may constitute a processing outcome itself, namely an influence of phasic affect on information processing. Because no research has yet tested whether phasic affect influences perceived similarity among stimuli, we conducted 5 Experiments that also tested whether phasic affect can account for the higher judged similarity among positive compared to negative stimuli. In three experiments, we affectively charged pictures of different Pokemon by pairing them with monetary gains and losses (Exp. 1a, 1b) as well as positive and negative trait words (Exp. 2); yet, the evaluative charge did not differentially influence perceived similarity among the Pokemon. Experiment 3 replicated the basic similarity asymmetry among positive and negative words, and found that it was unaffected by externally induced phasic affect. Experiment 4 showed that phasic affect had no influence on perceived similarity of non-evaluative words either. We conclude that albeit a weak influence of phasic affect on perceived similarity of stimuli cannot be ruled out entirely, it can most likely not account for the typically medium to large sized asymmetry in similarity among positive and negative stimuli.

Neural correlates of self-perceptions in adolescents with major depressive disorder

Alteration in self-perception is a salient feature in major depression. Hyperactivity of anterior cortical midline regions has been implicated in this phenomenon in depressed adults. Here, we extend this work to depressed adolescents during a developmental time when neuronal circuitry underlying the sense of self matures by using task-based functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and connectivity analyses. Twenty-three depressed adolescents and 18 healthy controls (HC) viewed positive and negative trait words in a scanner and judged whether each word described them (‘self’ condition) or was a good trait to have (‘general’ condition). Self-perception scores were based on participants’ endorsements of positive and negative traits during the fMRI task. Depressed adolescents exhibited more negative self-perceptions than HC. Both groups activated cortical midline regions in response to self-judgments compared to general-judgments. However, depressed adolescents recruited the posterior cingulate cortex/precuneus more for positive self-judgments. Additionally, local connectivity of the dorsal medial prefrontal cortex was reduced during self-reflection in depressed adolescents. Our findings highlight differences in self-referential processing network function between depressed and healthy adolescents and support the need for further investigation of brain mechanisms associated with the self, as they may be paramount to understanding the etiology and development of major depressive disorder.

Poster #S39 ENDOGENOUS TESTOSTERONE LEVELS ARE ASSOCIATED WITH NEURAL ACTIVITY IN MEN WITH SCHIZOPHRENIA DURING A FACIAL EMOTION PROCESSING TASK

Alteration in self-perception is a salient feature in major depression. Hyperactivity of anterior cortical midline regions has been implicated in this phenomenon in depressed adults. Here, we extend this work to depressed adolescents during a developmental time when neuronal circuitry underlying the sense of self matures by using task-based functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and connectivity analyses. Twenty-three depressed adolescents and 18 healthy controls (HC) viewed positive and negative trait words in a scanner and judged whether each word described them (‘self’ condition) or was a good trait to have (‘general’ condition). Self-perception scores were based on participants’ endorsements of positive and negative traits during the fMRI task. Depressed adolescents exhibited more negative self-perceptions than HC. Both groups activated cortical midline regions in response to self-judgments compared to general-judgments. However, depressed adolescents recruited the posterior cingulate cortex/precuneus more for positive self-judgments. Additionally, local connectivity of the dorsal medial prefrontal cortex was reduced during self-reflection in depressed adolescents. Our findings highlight differences in self-referential processing network function between depressed and healthy adolescents and support the need for further investigation of brain mechanisms associated with the self, as they may be paramount to understanding the etiology and development of major depressive disorder.

HIGH SELF-ESTEEM INCREASES SPONTANEOUS ATTENTION TO POSITIVE INFORMATION: AN EVENT-RELATED BRAIN POTENTIAL STUDY

By using event-related brain potentials (ERPs), the current study tested a hypothesis that high self-esteem increases spontaneous attention to positive information and influences negativity bias, defined as greater attention to negative information than positive information. Participants were asked to judge the pleasantness of positive and negative trait words infrequently presented in a sequence of neutral words. Compared to positive trait words, negative trait words elicited larger N2 amplitudes, thought to be elicited by a mismatch between the expectation and stimuli presented; this tendency was more extreme in individuals with a mindset associated with positive feelings and thinking, as measured by self-esteem, self-relatedness to positive trait words, and frequency of positive emotions in daily life. In contrast, no differences were found between the emotional words at the P3 amplitude, due to the set of stimuli being manipulated so that the emotional words were similar in arousal.

Culture, attention, and emotion.

This research provides experimental evidence for cultural influence on one of the most basic elements of emotional processing: attention to positive versus negative stimuli. To this end, we focused on Russian culture, which is characterized by brooding and melancholy. In Study 1, Russians spent significantly more time looking at negative than positive pictures, whereas Americans did not show this tendency. In Study 2, Russian Latvians were randomly primed with symbols of each culture, after which we measured the speed of recognition for positive versus negative trait words. Biculturals were significantly faster in recognizing negative words (as compared with baseline) when primed with Russian versus Latvian cultural symbols. Greater identification with Russian culture facilitated this effect. We provide a theoretical discussion of mental processes underlying cultural differences in emotion research.

Self-referential processing of negative stimuli within the ventral anterior cingulate gyrus and right amygdala

Neural activity associated with self-referential processing of emotional stimuli was investigated using whole brain functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). Fifteen healthy subjects underwent fMRI scanning while making judgments about positive and negative trait words in four conditions (self-reference, other-reference, semantic processing, and letter processing). Significant activity was observed in the right ventral anterior cingulate gyrus and the right amygdala in the negative-word/self-reference condition, and in the left amygdala in the positive-word/self-reference condition. Compared with the semantic-processing condition, the self-reference conditions showed significantly more activity in the medial prefrontal and temporal gyri, posterior cingulate gyrus, and precuneus. These results suggest that the medial prefrontal gyrus, posterior cingulate gyrus, and precuneus are associated with a self-referential processing, and the ventral anterior cingulate gyrus is involved in self-referential processing of negative emotional stimuli. The results also suggest that the amygdala is associated with self-referential processing of both positive and negative emotional stimuli.

Underlying self-esteem in chronic fatigue syndrome

Objective: It has been suggested that people with chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) have low self-esteem; however, this is not necessarily apparent when self-esteem is measured overtly. This study is the first to investigate underlying self-esteem using information-processing measures and overtly administered measures of self-esteem with this population. Methods: The study comprised 68 participants (24 CFS, 24 healthy volunteers, and 20 chronic illness volunteers). A Self-Statements Questionnaire (SSQ) and an Emotional Stroop Test (EST) using neutral, positive, and negative trait words were administered. Results: Participants with CFS reported lower self-esteem than the two comparison groups on overt measures. Overt responses, however, did not fully account for the full extent of the interference effect from the negative word Stroop compared to the positive word Stroop. Conclusion: In contrast to previous studies, participants with CFS reported lower levels of self-esteem on overt measures than two comparison groups. It is suggested, however, that the extent to which participants reported low self-esteem did not fully reflect their underlying low self-esteem and that this may result from the use of rigidly held defence mechanisms. Further use of information-processing measures, in contrast to relying only on self-report measures, is advocated for future research.

In-Group Favoritism Among Native and Immigrant Turkish Cypriots: Trait Evaluations of In-Group and Out-Group Targets

The authors investigated whether in-group favoritism manifests itself as praise for the in-group or as denigration of the out-group. A total of 450 Turkish Cypriots (248 native, 202 immigrant) judged the applicability of positive and negative trait words to in-group and out-group targets. Both the native and the immigrant groups judged the positive traits as more applicable to their respective in-groups than to the out-group. The native group evaluated the negative social traits as more applicable to the immigrant group. The immigrant group also judged the negative social traits as more applicable to themselves. The two groups did not differ in their judgments for more personal negative traits.

How do I appear to others? Social anxiety and processing of the observable self

Two information processing biases that could maintain social anxiety were investigated. High and low socially anxious individuals encoded positive and negative trait words in one of three ways: public self-referent, private self-referent, and other-referent. Half were then told they would soon have to give a speech. As predicted, compared to low socially anxious individuals, high socially anxious individuals recalled less positive public self-referent words, but only when both groups were anticipating giving a speech. No memory biases were observed for private self-referent or other-referent words. Next all participants gave a speech. Correlational analyses suggested that high socially anxious individuals may use the somatic concomitants of anxiety to overestimate how anxious they appear and underestimate how well they come across.

Mood Congruence and Depressive Deficits in Memory: A Forced-recall Analysis

Two experiments examined the contribution of reporting biases to mood-congruent recall patterns and diminished levels of recall frequently associated with depressed mood states. In Experiment 1, participants classified as dysphoric (n = 14) or nondepressed (n = 21) on the basis of scores on the Beck Depression Inventory and the Profile of Mood States made self-referential judgements regarding a series of affectively valenced words. Subsequently they were given an unexpected forcedrecall test, which encouraged guessing to meet the output requirement (i.e. 40 responses) of the test. Nondepressed subjects confidently reported more positive words than dysphoric subjects, but the latter produced significantly more correct guesses of words that were positively valenced. Similar findings were obtained in Experiment 2, in which dysphoric (n = 40) and nondepressed subjects (n = 40) performed both self-referent and orthographic judgements of affectively valenced words, followed by either a free- or forced-recall test. The findings suggest that positive and negative trait words were adequately encoded in memory, but, consistent with cognitive theories of depression, their accessibility to retrieval was differentially limited. In addition, however, the results implicate an important contribution of diminished motivation and/or conservative report criterion in the manifestation of depression-related biases and deficits in recall.

Abnormalities of self-representation and persecutory delusions: a test of a cognitive model of paranoia.

Patients suffering from persecutory delusions exhibit information processing and social reasoning biases that have been hypothesized to have a self-protective function. In a test of this hypothesis, patients suffering from persecutory delusions who were also depressed and non-depressed deluded subjects were compared with depressed and normal controls on two indirect assessments of self-schemata: the Dysfunctional Attitudes Scale (DAS) and incidental recall of negative and positive trait words that had previously been judged to be self-descriptive or not self-descriptive. Both the depressed subjects and the deluded subjects, whether or not they were depressed, scored highly on the DAS. Like normals, both depressed and non-depressed deluded subjects endorsed more positive than negative trait words as true of themselves whereas the depressed subjects endorsed as many negative as positive trait works. Like the depressed subjects, both groups of deluded subjects recalled as many of the negative words they had endorsed as positive words, whereas the normals remembered more positive words. No such bias was observed in subjects' recall of unendorsed words. The DAS results are interpreted as clearly consistent with a defensive model of persecutory delusions whereas the incidental recall data were equivocally so.

Psychiatric symptomatology and the recall of positive and negative personality information

Various studies from the cognitive information processing tradition have shown that neuroticism is particularly associated with the preferential processing of negative information about the self. Just over 60 ‘normal’ subjects completed the Langner (1962, Journal of Health and Human Behaviour, 3, 269–276) 22 measure of minor psychiatric symptoms. Later, they were presented with a list of positive, neutral and negative trait words for self-rating. After 1 hr, subjects were asked to recall all the trait words. As predicted, the Langner (1962) score was associated with an increased probability of recalling negative self-referent information ( r = 0.36). Implications for therapy are considered.

Attentional bias, persecutory delusions and the self‐concept

Recent studies of cognitive processes associated with persecutory delusions suggest that such delusions are associated with abnormalities in the processing of information relevant to the self. Attention to positive and negative trait words was studied in subjects suffering from persecutory delusions, matched subjects with depressed mood and normal controls using an emotional Stroop task. Subjects were required to name the ink colours of: (i) meaningless strings of Os, (ii) low self-esteem personal adjectives, (iii) high self-esteem adjectives and (iv) neutral adjectives. subjects were also asked to rate the degree to which they endorsed as self-descriptive these and other personally descriptive adjectives. The subjects with persecutory delusions demonstrated a significantly higher rate of endorsement for positive adjectives than negative adjectives, but showed a marked degree of interference when colour-naming both positive and negative words. The relevance of these findings to a model of persecutory delusions involving the self-concept is discussed.